Religiosity of young adults: does childhood maltreatment make a difference?

Previous research on the association between maltreatment in childhood and later religious beliefs and behaviours suggests that maltreatment may have either negative or positive influences on religiosity. However, methodological limitations of previous studies may limit their generalisability. The present study attempted to address these limitations. We examined associations between childhood physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and several dimensions of adult religiosity in a large sample of college students (N = 763). Associations between child maltreatment and religiosity were weak (rs ≤ 0.09). After controlling for possible demographic confounds, the only significant association was between childhood emotional abuse and religious questing.     

Researching Child Sexual Abuse in South Africa: Complexities in the Field

This study reports on my fieldwork experiences applying qualitative research strategies to study child sexual abuse in South Africa. It considers the challenges associated with, at three stages of data collection: ethical clearance, recruitment and data collection, followed by possible solutions. The study also considers the challenges from ethical and epistemological perspectives. I used a reflective self-study to analyse my experiences. My experiences revealed the following challenges: ethical process due to reasons not linked to the content of the research process would cause delays to the field-work. In addition, the use of [formal institutions] welfare institutions as sole research sites would result in a homogenous sample that does not permit comparison of experiences among the abuse cases. The costs to the researcher in terms of emotional and physical investment can be significant.     

Maternal Response to Father-Daughter Incest: Experiences of Mothers Following Disclosure

This study explored the impact of the disclosure of sexual abuse of the daughter by the father or father figure on the mother. Data were collected from seven mothers aged between 31 and 48 years whose daughters had a history of sexual abuse by the biological father, stepfather or live-in boyfriend. The children's ages ranged between 5 and 11 years with disclosure having taken place in the last two years before data collection. Data were collected using an interview schedule. The results obtained from the thematic content analysis indicate that the mothers were traumatized by the disclosure of the sexual abuse. The most prevalent symptoms were anger, anxiety, guilty, depression, insomnia, headache and fatigue. It is recommended that mothers be provided with psychological intervention in order to assist them deal with the trauma associated with the disclosure of the father-daughter incest.     

Science versus orthodoxy: Anatomy of the congressional condemnation of a scientific article and reflections on remedies for future ideological attacks

In July 1999 the U.S. Congress passed a formal resolution condemning our article on child sexual abuse (CSA), an article in which we concluded, based on 59 meta-analytically reviewed studies using college samples, that the assumed harmfulness of CSA had been overstated (Rind, Tromovitch, & Bauserman, 1998). The condemnation followed months of attacks by social conservatives and by mental health professionals specializing either in curing homosexuality or in treating patients by inducing them to recover memories of CSA. In this article, we detail the chronology behind the attacks. Then we discuss the science behind our meta-analysis, showing that the attacks were specious and that our study employed sound science, advancing the field considerably by close attention to issues of external, internal, and construct validity, as well as precision and objectivity. Next, we discuss orthodoxies and moral panics more generally, arguing that our article was attacked as vehemently as it was because it collided with a powerful, but socially constructed orthodoxy that has evolved over the last quarter century. Finally, we offer reflections and recommendations for fellow researchers, lest this kind of event recur. We focus on the need for greater cognizance of historical attacks on science to anticipate and deflate future attacks. We argue that our research should stand as another reminder among many that sacred-cow issues do not belong in science. We discuss nonscientific advocacy in the social sciences and the need to recognize and counter it. We discuss the failure of psychology to adequately deal with the study of human sexuality, a problem that enabled the faulty attacks on our article, and we suggest directions for becoming more scientific in this area. And last, we raise the issue of how professional organizations might deal more effectively with such attacks in the future.     

Ego-Identity Achievement and Perception of Risk in Intimacy in Survivors of Stranger and Acquaintance Rape

One hundred twenty-two women participated in a study of the relationship between acquaintance/stranger rape and the respective variables of ego-identity achievement (attainment of self-image during adolescence that integrates one's ideas of what one is and what one wants to be) and perception of risk in intimacy (perception of close interpersonal relationships as a risky proposition). Results showed that compared to women who had not been sexually assaulted, survivors of rape in general reported lower ego-identity achievement and greater perception of risk in intimacy. Focusing on acquaintance rape and stranger rape with age at the time of assault as possible moderator, it was found that lower ego-identity achievement was systematically related to acquaintance rape in women who had been raped during their adolescent years, but not in survivors of rape during adulthood. Perception of risk in intimacy was significantly higher among women who had been raped when adolescents compared to those who had been raped during adulthood, but only in relation to acquaintance rape.     

浅析知情同意权在我国立法中的不足

分析了我国在知情同意问题上的法律规则,指出我国现有法律存在四方面的立法缺陷,即对医生同时柯加告知义务与不告知义务,使医生陷入两难处境;在病人同意权方面只要求实验性和特殊诊疗措施征得病人同意,同意的主体上多且乱,过份强调病人家属的同意,侵害或剥夺了病人的自主权;对知情同意权的含义认识不清;知情权与同意权相分离而没有形成完整统一的病人知情同意权,在此基础上,提出完善我国立法的建议。     

Harming Consent

I argue that Nafsika Athanassoulis fails to establish the main contention of her paper (“The Role of Consent in Sado-MasochisticPractices”, Res Publica 8, 2 (2002)), namely that, given liberalism, consent should be a defence to a charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm even when the harm is a consequence of a sado-masochistic encounter. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Linkage analysis: Modus operandi, ritual, and signature in serial sexual crime

This article examines a process of behavioral analysis, referred to as linkage analysis, used in identifying sexual offenses that have been committed by the same offender. This type of analysis examines behavior that is contained in three distinct components of a crime, i.e., the modus operandi (MO) or the “how to” of a crime; the ritual or fantasy-based behaviors for a particular type or series of sexual crimes; the signature or unique combination of behaviors, which suggests that a series of crimes has been perpetrated by the same offender. Linkage analysis involves five assessment procedures: (1) gathering detailed, varied, and multisource documentation; (2) reviewing the documentation and identifying significant features of each crime individually across the series; (3) classifying the significant features of the crime as either MO and/or ritualistic constructs; (4) comparing the combination of MO and ritualistic features across the crimes to determine if a signature exists; (5) compiling a written analysis that details the conclusions derived from the available information. Results of this type of analysis can be used for investigative purposes and, in some instances, can help to inform the decision-making of the courts.     

Christian counsellors' views on working with gay and lesbian clients: Integrating religious beliefs with counselling ethics

Thirty‐one counsellors who identified themselves as practising, committed Christians, returned completed questionnaires that investigated how they integrate their Christian beliefs with their professional ethical code when counselling gay and lesbian clients. It was found that although most respondents believed that they were able to accept gay and lesbian clients, a minority demonstrated incongruence in relation to members of this client group, and were judgmental about perceived gay/lesbian behavious. Counsellors who took a rational stance in their understanding of the Bible and Christianity expressed more open and accepting views. Counsellors with a literalist approach to the Bible appeared to be lacking in acceptance and were unaware that they may not be offering the core condition of respect to their gay or lesbian clients. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for supervision, research and practice.     

Gay men's experiences of therapy

Fourteen gay men were interviewed using a structured interview schedule to explore their experiences of being in therapy. Particular importance was given to their perceptions of how their sexual orientation impinged on the counselling process and how their assumptions about counsellor sexual orientation affected the therapeutic relationship. The limitations of using structured interviews in qualitative research are acknowledged. Some significant findings were made, which were not well documented in the literature, such as the impact on the therapeutic relationship of internalised homophobia within gay men themselves. These findings hold the potential to inform counselling practice with gay male clients. Recommendations are made in relation to both practice and further research.